Mr_Leng

Hello, I don't own an MB but I'm interested in participating in this GB.
I (by end of next week, will)have a 2008.5 A4 and I live in Hong Kong (This unit could be shipped to my friend in US if it will make things easier.)
Am I eligible for this GB? If I am eligible, please count me in for one of these

igolfchip

I am close to getting in the GB. A couple questions:

1) Installation - I am not able to install myself. Are there any options for getting assistance here?

2) XM - I see that the company will have an XM radio option.
- Any idea on cost?
- Can this be included in GB?
- Can their XM solution work with the Bluetooth option?

3) iPOD component is a must - seems that we'll have the #'s in the GB to make this happen.

albion_king

ok i'm in

5) albion_king (comand)

igolfchip

Please excuse if this is a duplicate post. Very strange that I'm not seeing my orig. reply

Very interested in participating - a few questions:
1) Can a newbie install this? If not, how much extra labor will I incur to install?

2) XM Radio - company is coming out with an XM component - will this be compatible? Extra cost?

MJ50

1) MJ50 (COMAND)
2) Brad S55(IN)
3) jeffh
4) dw8083
5) igolfchip
6) albion_king (COMAND)

i dunno about XM option but i will ask if that can be added...
good news, i managed to offer 10 GB price to 5 ppl!

igolfchip - i'd let the shop install it for u... once u get the kit, u can take it to local shop and ask them for install quote.... manual will be included...

igolfchip

I'm not locked but pencil me in....

If I do participate, I am a "MOST" Comand unit.

adidadi

Sorry if I missed this, but I want to be sure before signing up. This will integrate my iPhone bluetooth into my 2005 SL55's command unit as if it were factory? Also plugs into iPhone with cable for full ipod control? Will ipod mute when call comes in? Do I need the Mercedes phone thing installed? If this is a clean integration, I'm in.

gvaughn

I am tentatively interested.

A couple of questions. Do we pay teh company directly and receive directly...or do we all have to submit payment together (i.e. one person gathers the money and pays and they're all shipped to him him/her)? I'm nto very familiar with the group buy process. Also, what is the guarantee/warranty policy for this unit? I know that at least a few people have stated that Mobridge and itronics are 1 and the same. Don't know, or care, if this is true...but I do know that Incartronics has a guarantee and return policy. Just checking if the same is true here in case we have issues with install and working as described.

BTW...I have MOST (not interested in ipod function, as I don't have ipod). Hopefully I won't lose my CD Changer functionality.

albion_king

as a participant in a gb, do i purchase direct from mobridge or through whoever organises the gb?

MJ50

to those who are in group buy, u can send paypal payment to me as i will get them in 1 package and then distribute to GB members...

sonixcz

I just got it. But in parcel isn't installation manual. Do you anybody has installation manual for MB C (w203) 2006? Thanks ;-)

Rory L

Im interested .

How do we conduct the transaction

MJ50

GB is going on now...
pls send paypal payment to chewykim@gmail.com ($849.99).
on the notes, specify if you have COMAND or not.

tonylin

Thank you very much for replying my novice questions. Please put me in the Group Buy (GB). My MB model is 2005 E320 so it is listed as having COMMAND.

I wonder if someone could show the pictures or YouTube on the installation steps.

Also my question is how the iPod cable is poking out from behind the MOST unit? Is it go from the back side and into the glove compartment or just coming out from the side? Or, does somebody find a iPhone holder nearby?

Since this mObridge BlueTooth does not need the arm rest phone area, I wonder if anybody would have use this spot to connect the iPhone with iPod adaptor. What I am thinking is that the iPhone cable could have to run all the way to the inside the arm rest. Any suggestion?

Finally, somebody asked earlier about is mObridge use the built-in microphone function with the E320? If you use the external microphone(s), where do you hang the mic?

tonylin

Please add me for Group Buy. My first post disappeared too (maybe my forum id is too new?)

1) MJ50 (COMAND)
2) Brad S55(IN)
3) jeffh
4) dw8083
5) igolfchip
6) albion_king (COMAND)

7) tonylin (COMMAND)

bcss

im interested please count me in too..

but i have no idea what my audio is.

my headunit looks like



this and seems like mine is not audio 20 or 50.

also how do i install this??

bcss

8) BCSS

tonylin

Thanks for sending me the order promptly. I really appreciate that.

For the moment, after removing the ashtray and the un-used CD tray above ashtray, I realized that the car does not have the fiber optic cable ready in there since I do not have the six-CD changer behind thiese two slots. I can see the orange fiber wires going up to the single CD player area so my choice is to hook up the moBridge from the single CD changer.

My car is 2005 E320. Only with one CD player, no 6-CD changer.

question 1: How do you remove the console unit?
I am hoping I do not have to remove the decorative wood panel above the console. There are two screw below the console units but so far I am not sure if it is the only thing I have to loosen. I feel kind of stuck.

question 2: Does the fiber optic hook-up the same way as if I would have via the six CD changer?

question 3: Is a dealer re-program needed ?

tonylin

To All -- There is no need to giving answers to these question. I have moved beyond these questions at present time.

gvaughn

Does that mean you got the answers to your various questions? If so...can you post the answers for others who might have the same questions?

Thanks.

tonylin

I think I will compile a more detailed set of description and photo in the end.

The status: I got the mObridge + iPod to work on my MB E320 Sedan.

The challenges: Most example assumed that you are replacing the 6-CD changer optical fiber with the iPod connection. However, my E320 does not have CD changer, which means it does not have the proper wiring to the CD changer area. This took the most study from the web resources.

In bullet points, here is what I have gone through:

- As you can see from my early post, I joined the group buy and received the order. The order came in quickly which is mObridge + iPod for Mercedes MOST command.

- Although I am very handy, I don't work on car much. The initial challenge is purely on how to get this to install. At a certain point, I got the impression from the seller that this is a "group buy" but you must find you an installer. I am glad to report that I did this all by myself with a lot of help from the web resources. (see my next point)

- web resources:
(1) video: you can watch the YouTube video which is also listed on InCarTronics.com who sells iTronics device. Recently iTronics said on the benzworld.org that they are different, but it looks the same to me as far as I can tell. I watched the video many times to get a good feel.
(2) forum: I study the information from this web site and benzworld.org web site both. I actually got help from somebody on benzworld and had posted many of my challenges there. As a new user, my posting message to this site needed approval to show up so I ended up finding help on the benzworld.
(3) vendor: mObridge is mobridge-usa.com ; iTronic sites incartronics.com
(4) Google: Google is your friend if you want to know if this is for you. It seems there are other stuff out there but I love this device now.

- Challenges I had:
(1) How-to video: The iTronic video gave me the idea about 60%. It is helpful because it was done on the same E class car. However, the video could be weak in details, i.e. how to remove the head unit and how to lay iPod cable to arm rest area. I give the video author a lot of credit though. The other 40% of knowledge came from both forums about how to remove console or even ashtray. When I started I don't even know what is an HU so I was a bit crazy to do this.
(2) Removing hardware out of the slot: Ashtray, Cd changer spot, head unit all have to come out of the slot. I also removed the cables for ease of operations. To try to take out the ashtray, to disconnect the power to ashtray, to remove the cable from the CD console, and to take out the head unit, etc. Also the actual adjustment of fiber cable took some learning. Each step I posted a messages for help and I got it.

(3) Confusion about fiber connection. If you have CD changer, your install may be "straight forward". For me it was not. I must learn how to adjust cable input because depending on your car's condition, mObridge may have to take input prior to the Head Unit gets it.

(4) Out-dated device firmware. The unit I bought from group-buy did not work the first time. I obtained update from mObridge and fixed the device. However, you have to know that this device appears to be sold for "installer only". mObridge really wants you to work with your seller and installer. Anyway, I updated the firmware so the unit started to work. Make sure you have the most up-to-date firmware. I was frustrated in the beginning because the device does not even pair up my BlueTooth and had the confusion of my optical cable situation. For several days it was like nothing worked and I did not know what was the cause of it. Well, all of the above had cause the problems!

(5) Tight spot handling: I don't have all the right torx driver so I had to get the very short kind in order to remove the head unit. Disconnecting the cable was also a challenge because I was afraid if I was going to break the connection.

(6) confusion on if I need to version code my vehicle.

At this time I have the unit fully working in my car. Yeah! I did not go to the dealer for version coding and it does not look like that I need it. What I have is BlutTooth iPhone that pairs with the car now automatically. I can call, received call (totally integrated with speaker) without touching the iPhone. The music going off when a call come in is nice. (I think this is the whole point.) I also have the iPod Nano connected to the mObridge serving as a hugh CD changer. ha. The interface of the mObridge is NOT intuitive but I finally got it.

Finally, I want to say the mObridge + iPod connection seems to improve the sound quality. This is kind of expected because you don't use the typical audio cable to get the sound input source. This part I love it very much. It seems to make the seemingly plain speaker system alive again.

gvaughn

Thanks for your post Tony. I'm sure it will be helpful to others.

jditom

Is the group buy still going on?

Thanks

MJ50

yup!

jditom

(4) Out-dated device firmware. The unit I bought from group-buy did not work the first time. I obtained update from mObridge and fixed the device. However, you have to know that this device appears to be sold for "installer only". mObridge really wants you to work with your seller and installer. Anyway, I updated the firmware so the unit started to work. Make sure you have the most up-to-date firmware. I was frustrated in the beginning because the device does not even pair up my BlueTooth and had the confusion of my optical cable situation. For several days it was like nothing worked and I did not know what was the cause of it. Well, all of the above had cause the problems!


Anyone else have this problem?